Somaliland, Puntland Exchange Soldiers Captured in Laas’Anod Fighting

GOOBJOOG NEWS | LAAS’ANOD: Somaliland and Puntland have today exchanged prisoners who were captured during the deadly fighting in Laas’anod in 2023 which resulted in hundreds of fatalities.

A delegation from Puntland jetted off to Hargeisa with 15 prisoners to Somaliland as the two sides agreed to release the prisoners who had been in captivity for about two years.

From Somaliland, 11 Puntland prisoners were released making a major step towards easing tensions in the restive Sool and Sanaag regions. Both Somaliland and Puntland have had long running disputes over the two regions.

Puntland’s Minister of Justice, Mohamed Abdiwahaab described the exchange as a step towards security cooperation.

“Today, we transferred 15 prisoners from among the prisoners captured in the fighting in Sool region in 2023 to the Somaliland government. Somaliland, in turn, transferred 11 prisoners previously captured in the same efforts in Sool region to the Puntland government,” said Abdiwahaab.

The Federal Government has since endorsed the founding of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn-Khatumo popularly abbreviated as SSC-Khatumo as a new Federal Member State.